Everything You Are
by ThisNightIsOurs
Summary: Is everything she needs. Hermione, sinking slowly into post-war depression, finds solace in Draco Malfoy. Slowly, he re-awakens her fragile heart. Summary kind of sucks. It's happier than it sounds, I think. Read and Review! :  D/H :
1. Back Again

**A/N: This is my first Draco/Hermione fic, so be nice. :) Background: All the kids that dropped out of Hogwarts (like Neville, Luna, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Draco, etc.) got special permission to finish school with the new seventh years after the war was over. Might be a little OOC. If so, sorry. :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of it! The wonderful J.K. Rowling does! **

Ch.1: Back Again

_Hermionie's Point of View_

I got through the barrier and took in my surroundings with a smile on my face; the Hogwarts Express. It had been too long since I'd seen the huge train. So many memories had taken place on it: Meeting Ron and Harry for the first time, Ron and I partaking in our first duties as prefects, the many laughs with all my friends.

A year of terror, and now we're back for another round of laughter, smiles, and memories. It was unreal.

"Oi! Hermione!" Ron said, bringing me back to the here and now. I turned to him and smiled.

"Can you believe we're actually here again? Six months ago, I don't think I would believe you if you even told me I'd be alive right now, let alone get the chance to go back to school..." I stopped, on the brink of tears.

He put his hand on my shoulder and directed me toward the train. "It is pretty crazy... but we should get out of the way before Harry or Ginny run into us on the way in." Oh. I was still standing in front of the barrier from King's Cross.

I grew silent as Ron and I dragged our bags onto the train and navigated our way through the crowds of people to find an empty compartment. Glancing at Ron again, I had a brief flashback of our kiss during the Battle of Hogwarts. Then, it had seemed like the best thing to do at the time. I'd always had feelings for him, and we were about to die. But the kiss, rather than bring me closer to Ron romantically, only made me realize that he'd only ever be a really good friend to me.

He took the news easily when I told him one evening at the Burrow, after all the hype from the Battle of Hogwarts had gone down. It was awkward at first, but we were able to part friends. Since then, things have returned to normal: Ron and I bickering occasionally, but overall we get along.

Harry and Ginny are still inseperable, of course. I think the war brought them much, much closer.

The summer at the burrow wasn't all fun though. There was the memorial ceremony for all that had died, the funeral for Tonks and Lupin, and Fred. Fred's funeral was unbearably sad. I think it was the most I'd ever cried in such a short period of time. George was strong through it, though he shed tears, too. All summer, he seemed a little out of it. He told us all that he was going to focus on the shop and make the best of things. I wish I had his strength.

I was still beating myself up about my parents. Oh, they were fine, I was positive - I'd been keeping tabs on them - but I missed them terribly. I hadn't been thinking, when I put the memory charm on them, that I might actually survive. And there's no way to reverse the charm, as Professor Lockheart so aptly demonstrated.

_But I'm not going to engage in regular pity parties, _I kept telling myself. _Some people have it so much worse. At least my parents are still alive._

"Hermione? Hermione?" Harry's voice brought me back to reality. I blinked, realizing I had been staring out the window for the better part of a half an hour. Oops.

"Sorry, Harry, I was just thinking," I said guiltily.

"About what? Seemed like you were really out of it," Ginny said, and I smiled wanly.

"It was nothing." I took a moment to see who was in the compartment with us: Ginny, Harry, Ron, Luna, Neville, and... Draco Malfoy, who was reading a book in the corner, separated from the rest of us. I blinked in surprise and glanced at Harry questioningly. He raised an eyebrow, and I jerked my head in Malfoy's direction. He just shrugged, like he didn't know why he was in there. I looked at Ginny and she just shook her head; she didn't know either. So I just shrugged and let it go. He wasn't bothering anybody.

"So how was everyone's summer?" I asked timidly. All I got back was incredulous stares that said, _Are you being serious right now? _I just nodded sadly and turned back to the window.

About five seconds later, Draco burst out, "Seriously? Are you all going to just sit there and pout, because... because what? You lost a couple of friends? A family member or two, maybe? Well, listen to me now. You're alive. Voldemort isn't. You're on this train, getting a second chance that many would die for, _have _died for. Why don't you quit being selfish, and take the time to enjoy what you still have."

And then he closed his book, got up, and left. We all sat there in silence for a moment, our mouths open, our eyes wide.

Ginny was the first to speak. "He's... he's right." We all nodded. It was the most "right" thing I had ever heard him speak. It seemed the war had changed even the seeminly unchangable Draco Malfoy. I was shocked, to say the least.

We spent the rest of the train ride talking about nothing in particular. I don't think we ever fully recovered from Malfoy's outburst. Soon, we felt the train begin to slow, and the prefects came around to knock on the doors, letting us know that we would be arriving soon.

"Hermione, what are you going to do on the first day during classes?" Ron asked and I glanced at him while heaving my trunk onto the floor.

"What are you talking about, Ron?"

"Well, you haven't been reading the textbooks lately, and I just wondered what you're going to do when you realize you can't quote the entire textbook in every class on the first day." He and Harry started laughing, and I gave them both a good smack on the arm.

"Ha-ha, you two. How do you know I haven't memorized the textbooks?"

Ron looked incredulous. "We just got our books three days ago! There wouldn't have been time!"

I smiled smugly. "That's what you think." Of course, what he thought was right. Of course I hadn't been thinking of actual school work. I was, for once, more anxious to be at the only place I could truly call home now. As much as I love being at the Burrow, it isn't home like Hogwarts is.

We stepped off the train, and I looked up at my home.


	2. A New Perspective

**A/N: REVIEW REVIEW! Even if you don't like it, review! But break it to me gently, please.. haha :)**

**Disclaimer: Clearly, I don't own these characters. I'm not that awesome. :)**

Ch. 2: A New Perspective

_Draco's POV_

I couldn't believe the selfishness of some people.

If the war had taught me anything, it was that I'm not who I thought I was. Blood status wasn't your ticket to living it big. Though it did keep me alive, it shouldn't have. I watched too many people die in my own home because of their bloodline. I watched Granger get torchered in my living room. That opened my eyes a bit.

I also learned that I'm not king of the world. There were braver, smarter, more deserving people out there than me. I was a coward, the whole time Voldemort made his headquarters my home. How could I not be? He had my entire family at his mercy. My mother and father will never be right again because of him.

The day he died was the best day of my life.

Since then, I've worked my hardest to make things right. Fix my attitude. Make myself stop being the stupid git that I used to be. Appologize more. And, above all, not to feel sorry for myself because of what I had to witness. At least I'm alive, for Christ's sake.

The audacity of people! It made me sick, seeing Granger, Potter, and the others just sit there and feel sorry for themselves. They should be celebrating! There aren't dead! Voldemort is gone! And what do they do? Throw a giant pity party. Ridiculous. Even if some of their family members died, they still have each other. None of my friends came back for another year of school. I don't even know how many of them were still alive. Not that I had any true friends anyway.

After I stormed away from the pity party compartment, I found another empty one. The whole time I was in there, no one walked in. No one even walked by. Suddenly struck with a strange empty void, I exhaled loudly and opened my book again.

Before I knew it, I was almost finished with the book, and it was dark outside. I started. "No way have I been reading for hours...," I muttered to myself, closing my book and getting up to stretch. Judging from the way my joints popped, I had definitely been sitting in the same spot for hours.

I looked above me for my trunk, and realized it wasn't there. _Of course, _I thought. It was still in the compartment with the others. I grimaced, not wanting to go back in there. I decided to wait till they were out already to get it. I sat back down to finish my book.

About twenty minutes later, a prefect came and knocked on my door, signalling that there were only a few minutes left till we got to Hogwarts. I closed my book and leaned back on the seat, closing my eyes.

I was still trying to get used to the new idea that had formed in my head. The idea was that, this year, I wouldn't call anyone a Mudblood. I wouldn't look down at others. I would be _nice_ for a change. I figured it'd be tough to break deeply rooted habits, but it was worth a try. I wasn't the same person I was before sixth year, when the change had started in me.

I felt the train shudder to a stop, and I opened my eyes. Time to get started with my "new me" philosophy.

After waiting till for the noise to die down, I went to the other compartment for my things. Luckily, no one was still in there. I hurried and grabbed my bag, not wanting to get left behind.

I smiled when I stepped off the train and looked up at the giant castle. I smiled wider when I thought of the warm bed and deluctable food just waiting for everyone to arrive. My mouth was watering just thinking about it.

I walked over to the carriages that the thestrals were pulling and got on an empty one. I saw a couple of third and fourth years eyeing me with worry, but they got on anyway. I had to hand it to them, they were brave. I wouldn't have got on if I were them.

I took a moment to take a look at everyone around me. Almost everyone was looking at the thestrals with deep confusion. Of course, today is the first thestral sighting for a lot of people. Almost everyone that was at the battle at Hogwarts (which was a surprising number of kids) saw someone die. It was actually my first time seeing them, too. But I was prepared for it.

The ride to Hogwarts was short for me; I was lost in thoughts. We all made our way to the Great Hall for the feast, which past by just as quickly as the ride to it, it seemed. The sorting hat made its usual speech, something about friendship and sticking together through this reconstruction era. I barely listened; I was more interested in looking around. I found my eyes wondering to the Gryffindor table a lot.

The mopers were still moping, as if I'd said nothing on the train. Ridiculous people. Though I could see Granger making an effort: she was laughing, at least. There was something about her that looked... more attractive than she used to.

Don't give me that look. Anyone could see that she's attractive. That doesn't mean I'm going to _do _anything about it, bloody hell...

I wondered idly who my roommates were going to be, back in the dormatories. Probably a bunch of sixth years (sorry, _seventh_ years) that I don't know. Oh, well. Lately, I've been doing well with keeping to myself.

When dinner was over, everyone made their way to their dormatories, but I lingered and just walked around for a bit, reminiscing on some good times in the hallways and courtyard. The hallway where Potter got caught next to Filch's petrified cat, that particularly funny day Weasley hit himself with the slug spell... good times.

Just as I was rounding the corner to make my way to the dungeons, I heard something strange coming from an empty classroom. I walked closer, trying to figure out what the sound was. As I got closer, I recognized the sound as someone crying. A girl, to be exact.

Now, I've had bad experience with crying girls. Pansy used to cry a lot. I didn't handle it well. My mum used to cry all the time, and still does. I handle that better, but not like I should.

So it was beyond me as to why I decided to try and comfort this poor, crying girl. Maybe to prove something to myself: that I really was becoming a better person, that I can handle anything life throws at me. Maybe I was just losing my marbles.

I opened the door, and found a girl sitting on the floor, positively drowning in tears.

It was Granger, and she saw me.

Life threw me a curve ball, and it was too late to back out.


	3. Friends? Odd

**A/N: Okay, people. I see the favorites and alerts. But not a simple "Good story" or "Bad story"? *sigh*...**

**Disclaimer: Don't own the characters**.

Ch. 3: Friends? Odd...

_Hermione's POV_

Oh, no.

No, no, no.

This isn't happening. Draco Malfoy did _not _just walk in on me crying. As if I needed anyone making fun of me right now...

I sat there, sniffling, staring at him, and waited for him to point and laugh or something equally Malfoy-ish.

But here's the kicker: he didn't do any of that stuff.

What he did almost made me start crying again. At first, he looked extremely uncomfortable, and glanced back through the doorway as if debating his escape. Which was what I was kind of hoping he would do. But, no. He walked forward, the uncomfortable looking turning into a mixture of determination and concern. _Concern._

I know. I was shocked, too.

He walked to the wall nearest where I was sitting (in the middle of the floor), and sat down. I wiped my tears off my face and stared at him, waiting for him to speak.

Finally, he did. "Erm... Are you okay?"

I stared at him for a second before nearly bursting out laughing. "Does it _look _like I'm okay?" I screeched, past laughter and now incredulously angry. "You come in here while I'm in the middle of a good crying jag, interrupting it, and ask... if I'm _okay_? Are you _stupid_?"

He winced and scowled. "Well, I'm sorry for attempting to help! I'm not used to...to... dealing with crying girls!" He got up to leave and I crawled over to where he was sitting and sat down next to him, blocking his way. He plopped back down. I wiped at the fresh tears that had appeared.

"I'm sorry. I don't usually lash out like that. I'm surprised I did; I was actually expecting something worse coming out of your mouth at the sight of me crying. Why did you try to comfort me, anyway?"

He leaned his head back on the wall and stared at the ceiling. "I heard you crying from the hallway. I wasn't just going to leave, even if it is someone I... used to not be able to stand."

My jaw opened at his words. Was this Malfoy I was talking to? And what was that last bit again? "Wait... _used_ to? Since when can you stand to be around me?"

He smiled a little. "Since now. Over the summer, I guess you can say I changed, as cheesy as that sounds."

"That doesn't sound cheesy. It sounds a little hard to believe, though. Are you actually okay to breathe the same air as a Muggleborn?"

He frowned. "I can't believe how stupid I used to be." He turned his head to look at me. "I know this is a little late, and it might not matter much, but I am so sorry for how I treated you over the years. I was probably worse to you than I was to anyone else. I'm sorry."

My jaw dropped again. Quickly I gathered my thoughts. "What brought this on? What made you realize how terrible you were?" I still didn't know if he was telling the truth or not (I mean, come on, it's Malfoy for crying out loud!), but I was curious.

He took a deep breath. "I watched a lot of people die in my home the past year. Even more were tortured. You were, even. As much as I didn't like you at the time, that was... that was hard to watch." I winced at the memory. He looked at me and put his hand on my arm. "I watched people that had families, careers, and dreams just die. For merely being. It was terrible." He dropped his hand off my arm and scowled at the floor, and I thought I saw tears in his eyes, but they never fell.

I suddenly felt terrible for feeling sorry for myself because of what had happened to me. He'd had it so much worse. Carefully, slowly, I scooted closer to him and put my arm around his shoulder. It felt strange. I'd never imagined that I would be trying to comfort Draco Malfoy. He turned towards me again, and smiled.

"Thanks, Granger. Er, Hermione. I suppose we're on first name basis, right?" I nodded and he smiled wider at me. I felt something funny in the pit of my stomach, but I didn't acknowledge it. He nudged me. "So what were you in here for? I forgot my purpose for coming here. I'm supposed to be comforting you, not the other way around."

I laughed, and realized my tears were completely dry. "A few things, really. They all seem pretty trivial compared to your problems."

He lost his smile. "Nobody's problems are trivial."

I blinked at him in surprise. It was probably the most un-Malfoy-like thing he'd said thus far. "Well... it's mainly my parents. I had to erase their memory of me, so they wouldn't get killed by Voldemort for being related to me. They'll never remember me. I expected to die, so I didn't even think about what would happen if I lived through everything." I looked at the floor, the tears spilling over onto my cheeks.

Draco (he was right, might as well call each other by our first names now) reached over and wiped a tear off my cheek. "I know this won't help much, but at least they're still alive."

"I know. That's what I keep telling myself. But it's hard, knowing my mom will never hug me, and my dad and I will never argue about silly things, and we'll never sit down for a family dinner ever again. It's rather depressing, actually."

He lifted my chin with his hand, and made me look at him. "Well, then, don't think those depressing thoughts. Think about the facts that they're healthy and happy. Think about being here, with all of your friends, and not having to worry about an evil serial killer on the loose."

I smiled and sniffed. "Thanks. I'll try to remember that."

We sat in a comfortable silence for a couple of minutes, and I thought about how weird it was for me to actually be comfortable in his presence. Soon we heard a noise outside the door, probably a prefect, and he glanced at his watch.

"It's getting late, we need to get back to our dormitories." He got up and reached a hand down for me. I took it, and immediately got that weird feeling again. And again, I ignored it. After I was up, he quickly let go of my hand with a funny look on his face.

Before I could analyze the funny look, he walked over to the doorway, beckoning me to follow him. He checked to see if it was clear, and we silently sneaked out of the room. When we got out, he looked at me and smiled.

"Well, I'll see you around... Hermione." His smile got bigger, and then he turned to go to the dungeons. Dazed a little from his smile, I made my way to Gryffindor tower.

The whole way there, my thoughts consisted of mainly _What just happened?_ Did I just confide in Draco Malfoy? And did he confide in me? Were we... friends? No, this was probably a one-time thing. He was probably just in a weird mood. I was sure that everything would be back to normal the next day, during classes.

Nevertheless, as I plopped into my warm bed and fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow, I didn't have nightmares about Bellatrix Lestrange, like I usually did.

I dreamt of Draco Malfoy.

**A/N: Sorry about such short chapters... Maybe some reviews and they'll be longer? :) Also, sorry about any typos I might've missed. Especially in the last chapter. :)**


	4. Civic Duties

**A/N: Sorry this took forever... thanks for the reviews! :)**

**Disclaimer: Nope, don't own it. **

Ch. 4: Civic Duties

_Hermione's POV_

Ah, classes. Books, homework, memorizing, _learning_...

I love it all.

I always have. So a year without it left me with a bit of an empty feeling. Hopefully, it would be the only year I'll have to miss of school. I hope to be able to teach when I graduate, if McGonagall will have me.

Being as excited as I was, of course I was the first one to breakfast. I ate, reading the paper and smiled occasionally at how normal the stories in the paper seemed to be. Everything was so blissfully normal.

Or, I thought they were. Those thoughts flew out the window the moment Malfoy, sorry, _Draco_, sat down across from me and just started eating. Not even looking... the least bit uncomfortable at sitting at the Gryffindor table. I stared at him. He looked up and shrugged.

"What?" he said, mouth full of food. "I'm hungry!"

I smiled and shook my head, still looking at him. After a few moments with him not looking up again, I went back to my paper. We sat like that in silence for a few minutes before Draco cleared his throat.

"Oh, uh, I should go. I have to get to the library." I looked up at him questioningly, but he just got up and walked away. I turned around to look at him, confused, and saw Harry, Ron, and Ginny approaching the table. They were all giving the spot Draco was just sitting at looks of confusion. Then they looked at me. I quickly went back to my paper.

They sat down and Ron immediately started eating. Of course. Did all guys do that? Harry didn't, but it could just be because of Ginny... Harry cleared his throat, interrupting my internal debate. I looked up over my paper at him and raised an eyebrow. "Hmm?"

He got a stern look on his face. "Hermione, don't play dumb. What was Malfoy doing sitting with you?"

I put the paper down and shrugged. "I honestly couldn't tell you." It was the truth, at least. All he did was come over here, eat, then leave. He never even talked.

"Well, watch yourself. Whatever his intentions were, they can't be good. This is Malfoy we're talking about."

"Oh, for heaven's sake, Harry! All he did was eat then leave! He barely even spoke! It was hardly suspicious."

Ron spoke up. "Honestly, Hermione, after all we've been through, shouldn't you think _everything _is suspicious?"

I pondered that one for a second. "No," I decided, "not anymore."

Though it was some time before anyone could get a knock on there door without being suspicious, after Voldemort died. Even now, I'm guessing Mr. Weasley still uses secret codes when finding out people's identification.

Before conversation could start up again, a scared-looking first year boy approached us. "E-excuse me. I'm supposed to give this to a Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. They're f-from McGonagall." He quickly set it on the table, and scurried off. Ron and I looked at each other, thoroughly puzzled.

We picked up our parchments and read them:

_Miss Hermione Granger,_

_I request yours and Mr. Weasley's presence in my office at lunch. It will be quick, so you will be able to eat. Have a good morning, Miss Granger. _

_-Professor McGonagall_

_P.S. Dumbledore will never be forgotten._

"What's that last part for?" Ron asked, confused.

"I'm guessing 'Dumbledore' is the password," I replied, distracted by the rest of the letter.

The content of the letter didn't really bother me. It couldn't be anything bad, because we had _just _gotten back. I did wonder something, though.

"Does McGonagall still teach Transfiguration?" I asked the table in general.

Harry looked confused. "Why wouldn't she?"

"Well, she's Headmistress, isn't she? Dumbledore didn't teach anything when he was Headmaster."

"The only new professors they announced last night were the Defense Against the Dark Arts and Muggle Studies professors," Ginny pointed out. "So I'm guessing that McGonagall still teaches. She probably refused not to," she said with a smile. I couldn't see her giving up teaching either. She'll probably teach till the day she dies, if not longer.

The first part of the day went by quickly. I had Defense Against the Dark Arts first, with a new professor. Professor Karmike. She was somewhat of a novelty at first, because she's American-born. She apparently moved here in her early twenties to teach here. She taught at a different wizarding school first. She's not exactly old, but she's not young either. And she's a bit boring. Her voice doesn't have much inflection to it.

I also had History of Magic and Transfiguration (which McGonagall still teaches). It was soon time for lunch, and Ron and I made our way to McGonagall's office.

We didn't talk much on the way there. I assume Ron was mainly thinking about what he was going to have for lunch, and I was just thinking about why in the world we'd be requested at the Headmistresses office the day classes start.

We said the password (which _was_ Dumbledore), and walked up and into her office.

"Take a seat," she said, pointing at the two chairs in front of her desk. She had a slight frown on her face.

"So, I assume you're wondering why on earth I would call you here before you have the chance to get in trouble," she began, a glint in her eye, probably reminiscing on every other time we'd done something that was against the rules.

"I have called you here to inquire as to why the both of you weren't partaking in Prefects duties yesterday."

Ron and I looked at each other. "We weren't under the impression that we were still prefects, Professor. I mean, we did skip a year. That's not exactly prefect behavior," Ron said, looking baffled at the thought of still having the privilege of being a prefect.

"You don't think that the things you both did while you were gone are prefect material? I personally think they're Minister of Magic material, but that is just my opinion. I want you both to be walking the corridors at your designated times tonight, just like your sixth year. You are free to go to lunch." She smiled at us both, then went back to whatever she'd been doing before we walked in. Ron and I got up and left, a little puzzled but pleased. I'd honestly almost forgotten about prefects.

The rest of the day went by like we'd never skipped a year; The only strange part was not seeing the same people we'd had for six years in our classes. Now our classes were with the students that were a year behind us. The second part of the day wasn't as great as the first part for me, though. There was something nagging at my conscience.

After dinner, Ron, Harry and I went back to the dormitories to do our homework for a couple of hours. I was loaded up on DADA homework. Professor Karmike had explained that a large homework load was a sure fire way to weed out the strong from the weak minded.

At five till nine, Ron looked up from his Transfiguration book. "Hermione, when is your shift?"

My head snapped up, and I looked at the clock. "Oh no! In five minutes!" Throughout the week, each Gryffindor prefect had a certain shift that lasted an hour, to walk through the corridors and make sure everyone was either doing something productive or wrapping up what wasn't. Mine was a nine, Ron's was at ten.

I scrambled out of my cozy chair, shoved my books in my bag and ran out of the portrait hole. After I got to the Great Hall corridor, I took a breath and looked at my watch. 9:03. Not too late.

I made my way through the halls, looking at the portraits as I passed and thinking about the past couple of days. It was during that time that I thought for the first time in nearly twelve hours about Draco Malfoy.

"Ugh," I said quietly to myself, slapping a hand to my forehead. "I'm such an idiot."

"No, you're not," a deep voice said from the dark doorway to my left. I screamed, then quickly covered my mouth to quench the noise. Then I saw the platinum blonde hair, and I began to scowl.

"Draco," I said, teeth clenched, "you scared me half to death."

He walked completely into the open, laughing so hard he was shaking. "Sorry," he said through snickers. I slapped him on the arm.

"There was no need for that! What are you doing here anyway?"

He stopped laughing, but kept a wide smile on his face. "Hey, hey. No need to be grouchy. I'm on hall duty."

"Oh." Right. I'd forgotten he was a prefect, also.

"So how was your first day back?" Draco asked as we walked on. I glanced at him, surprised he was making small talk.

"The same as yours, I'd imagine." Draco was in most of the same classes as I.

"That doesn't mean that your day was the same as mine."

"True."

I didn't offer anything after that, and he looked at me expectantly. I sighed.

"It was... well, it was both incredible and heart-wrenching." I paused again, collecting my thoughts, and he didn't interrupt. "I don't know if you know this or not, but I love school." I grinned and looked at him, and he laughed, but still knew not to interrupt. "I do, I love it. And I missed learning and just... being a kid. Well, not a kid, but you know what I mean. I missed waking up in the morning and not having to worry about if it was going to be the last time I'd see a new day."

I looked down and took a deep breath. "But everything around me is a reminder of when that was the case. I've never been to school without seeing Dumbledore around. I'm not with the same people hardly now, and it just reminds me of those that passed, friends who didn't make it..." I sniffed, and realized with horror that I was crying again. I wiped my tears away and gave a watery chuckle. "Sorry. I must sound so stupid and mopey. I know I should be extremely happy to be here, just like you said yesterday, but it's just hard sometimes." My voice broke twice on my last sentence. I looked at the ground again.

Draco stopped in front of me, blocking my way. He put his hand on my chin and raised my head. "Hey. It's okay. I'm sure everyone felt that way at some point today. It's hard not to, there are reminders everywhere. I would be worried if you didn't feel remorse for those who weren't as fortunate as those that made it through the war." He gently wiped a tear away from my right cheek with a finger.

I smiled weakly. "Thank you, Draco." He returned the smile, and we continued walking down the empty corridors, standing a little closer than we had been before my confession.

While we walked, I couldn't help but wonder about a couple of things. Where had this sincere compassion in Draco come from? Surely he couldn't have just acquired it; surely it had to be there all the time and he just didn't show it. But then that raised the question, why had he hidden it? Why was he so mean for so long?

The other question consuming my thoughts as we walked so close together was: Why, after everything he put me through in years before, did two episodes of compassion and understanding have me getting butterflies in my stomach every time I looked at him?


	5. Decisions

**A/N: Sorry if this chapter is confusing. I didn't really plan this one, it just kinda happened. ~P.S.~ I AM SO SORRY. It's been, like 7 months... SO SORRY! I kind of forgot that I was writing this! Oops! **

**Disclaimer: ** **Although it would be really awesome to be J.K. Rowling, I'm not. **

Chapter 5: Decisions

_Draco POV_

It seemed almost surreal, walking down the dark corridors close next to Hermione Granger and feeling comfortable about it. It was a comfort simply to be standing next to her.

I wasn't expecting that.

I hadn't even noticed it in the classroom the night before. I must've been too preoccupied with fulfilling my challenge to myself that I didn't notice how incredibly nice it felt to be with her.

Now, don't go getting funny ideas. I just said that she was nice to be around. You people and your imaginations...

While we were walking, we turned down a hallway that I recognized as one of the places that someone was petrified in during my second year. I couldn't remember who it had been, though, because it was all so insignifigant and a little funny to me at the time. I frowned, not liking the way I remembered my first six years here.

Hermione made a noise beside me, and when I looked at her she had a strange look on her face. "What's the matter?" I asked.

She shook her head. "This is the hallway that I was petrified in during second year. I remember the bright yellow eyes in the mirror quite distinctly. I was terrified, because after I had figured the whole petrifying thing out, I knew it was going to find me. I was on my way back to Harry and Ron from the library to tell them my discovery when it happened." She looked up at me, and shook her head again. "That's a really weird thing to remember now. I've walked down this hallway countless times since then, and it's never bothered me before." She crossed her arms and sighed.

My eyebrows pulled together in concern. Carefully, I put my arm around her shoulder, like she had done for me the night before. She looked up at me and smiled. "Thank you."

I smiled in return. "You're welcome."

We walked on like that for a couple of minutes when she suddenly spoke. "Hey, you never told me how your first day back was."

"No, I didn't."

She waited, but I didn't answer. "Well, are you going to tell me about it?"

I shook my head and took my arm from around her shoulders. She stopped and looked around. We were back to the staircase leading to Gryffindor Tower. "I would, but," I tapped my watch, "I think it's time to head back."

She looked at her watch and gasped. "Oh! It's 10:30. I'm surprised Harry and Ron haven't sent out a search party!" She started up the stairs, then turned around to smile at me. "Thank you, Draco, for keeping me company. You are... easier to talk to than I would have thought."

"I could say the exact same to you," I replied, smiling widely. That, and more. There was something about her that made me feel... happier.

She walked up the staircase, and I watched her for another moment before turning around to go down to the dungeons.

That girl confused the hell out of me. Most confusing of all was how I went six years making fun of her and making her life miserable, when she deserved absolutely none of it. I bullied my fair share of people in my day, but bullying her was what I felt the most guilty for. Just the fact that she's given me a chance to make amends with her means so much. _I _wouldn't be so forgiving if the roles were reversed.

And then there was the problem of me not being able to stop thinking about her. Now, don't go too far with that. It's not like I'm in love with her or anything. But she fascinates me. She's an enigma, and I'm working hard to figure her out.

To be honest, I don't really know much about Hermione. Well, okay, I know a lot about her major issues, like her parents and coping with the aftermath stuff from the war. But I don't even know her middle name, or her favorite color. Her likes and dislikes. And that is why this is bothering me so much. I don't know her, she shouldn't be clouding my focus.

That's why I refrained from telling her about my day; it revolved so much around her. Most of my classes are with her, so, naturally, I couldn't go very long without seeing her out of the corner of my eye and pondering over her for a while. By the end of the day, I was nearly frustrated with her; the situation was getting out of hand. I imagined that was how girls felt around guys they think are attractive, and that thought disgusted me. I wasn't about to turn to mush.

After my last class with her, I worked very hard to take my mind off of her. And it worked, to an extent. Until prefect duty.

I chuckled to myself, thinking that it could either be considered a good thing or a bad thing that I'd run into her tonight. On the good side, well, it was obvious that I rather enjoy talking with Hermione. On the bad side, it kind of ruined my plans of forgetting all about her. But I'd never really committed to that plan.

I reached the Slytherin dormitories, and climbed into my bed. I wondered briefly if I was being creepy about the situation, but then shook the feeling off. I wasn't stalking her. Quite the opposite, actually.

After a short debate in my head, I decided to talk to her during class sometime. Preferably one that didn't include Potter and Weasel - sorry - Weasley. _That _was going to take some getting used to. I didn't want them to get the wrong idea, like they did at breakfast. I saw the way they looked at me as I left, and it was clear that old prejudices die hard. I can understand that; I don't think I'll ever grow to _like _Weasley. Potter - maybe.

But I was getting ahead of myself. I overthink things.

When I dreamt that night, it wasn't of my usual nightmare-ish things like Voldemort and the bright green light of _Avada Kedavra. _I dreamt of walking closely beside someone down a long, open corridor.

I never saw who that person was, but I think I could guess.


End file.
